Special to the Journal

ALBANY, Ga. – Injuries can happen to anyone from athletes to homebodies. Residents of Albany and surrounding areas now have access to ultrasound-guided injections, a new technique to help with the pain of injuries and healing of inflammation. The use of ultrasound-guided joint injection technology helps physicians guide injections directly to the source of the pain.

Kiyoshi Yamazaki, MD, a sports medicine specialist and board-certified family medicine physician with Phoebe Orthopaedic Specialty Group, is the first physician in the area providing this technique.

“This procedure allows for extremely safe, minimally painful, precisely accurate steroid, viscosupplement, and autologous blood injection into targeted joints, tendons, and other inflamed or painful areas,” said Dr. Yamazaki. “By utilizing this technology, I can interpret this image to enhance my ability to navigate my needle into target areas while avoiding bones, muscles, nerves, and blood vessels.”

Musculoskeletal ultrasound uses sound waves beyond the frequency of human hearing to digitally create an image of structures within the body. A doctor uses this technology to improve the accuracy, safety, and precision with which he manages medical conditions.